Don't be a bystander to child abuse

Stuffed animals, candles, flowers and handmade posters are placed at the home where Josiah Williams, 5, died. He had signs of "prolonged malnutrition," bruises, cuts, tears and gashes all over his body, and two black eyes.

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The death of 5-year-old Josiah Williams shortly after Christmas is horrible. His father, stepmother and step-grandmother are charged with injury to a child, a first-degree felony. Accounts of the child's treatment provided by witnesses to Express-News staff writer Michelle Casady depict a child subjected to brutal, sadistic treatment by adults who should have cared for and loved him.

While the defendants must be considered innocent unless proven guilty, deaths similar to Josiah's are also horribly familiar in San Antonio. Diamond Alexander, Jovonie Ochoa, Holden Resendez, Liliana Treviño and other area children's lives have been snuffed out in recent years as a result of the abuse of parents or guardians.

In almost every case, someone — a friend, a neighbor, a relative — later acknowledged being aware that something was wrong. But they claimed not to know enough — or perhaps not to care enough — to get involved.

“We were conflicted,” one anonymous witness to Josiah's situation told the newspaper. “They had two other happy, healthy children they seemed to be caring for without problem, and we didn't want to take it out of context.”

How does one take an emaciated, bruised and fearful child out of context? While the exact cause of Josiah's death on Dec. 27 is still under investigation, preliminary findings from the Bexar County Medical Examiner identify “serious signs of abuse, malnutrition and neglect.” Surely someone noticed these signs.

The causes of child abuse are numerous. There are no simple solutions. But one important part of the cure is surely that adults who suspect child abuse will act responsibly and speak up on behalf of those too young and too scared to speak for themselves.

Help break the cycle of pain and death. Report suspected cases of child abuse by calling 9-1-1, the United Way Helpline at 2-1-1 or the Texas Abuse Hotline at 800-252-5400. Calls to the abuse hot line can be made anonymously. Being a conflicted bystander only ensures that the problem will get worse.